The Ultimate Guide to Thought Leadership
The Ultimate Guide to Thought Leadership
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Turning a brand's expertise into influence takes a solid thought leadership strategy and unabashedly future-focused content.
So you wanna be a thought leader? Well, it’s going to take some serious work. This isn’t just about releasing a beautifully written white paper or even securing a TED Talk (although that’s a great start). Fear not, we’ve got you covered.
Step one: a solid thought leadership strategy. And one of the most effective ways to bring that strategy to life is with content. But not just any content. It’s going to need a strong POV that sets you apart from the pack. Competition, you see, is fierce: 52% of B2B marketers report their organization will likely increase their investment in thought leadership content in 2025, per the Content Marketing Institute.
It’s not difficult to see why so many companies are obsessing over establishing themselves as thought leader brands. With the right strategy, a company can capitalize on its position as a successful thought leader to fuel growth. Thought leadership can help attract new clients, boost customer retention and set the business apart from the pack in a hyper-competitive market. And for companies looking to outperform (and outlast) the competition, that’s a true game-changer.
Ready to boost your brand’s influence and impact? Let’s dive into how to craft and execute a thought leadership strategy that showcases your company’s expertise and moves audiences to action.
76%
of B2B marketers expect their company to increase their investment in thought leadership in the next 1-2 years.
FAQs: Defining Thought Leadership
What is thought leadership?
The phrase “thought leadership” gets thrown around a lot — and everyone seems to have their own definition. Yes, it’s about establishing the brand as an expert and authority. But it’s about more than just touting expertise: Thought leadership brands influence others with their ideas and perspectives by consistently sharing valuable insights and knowledge.
Thought leadership is the ability to lead and contribute to conversations by providing expertise, clarity and context to topics of common interest, thereby inspiring and influencing action in a measurable way.
Who can be a thought leader?
Any entity with unique insights, expertise and a strong voice can establish themselves as a successful thought leader. It could be an individual, like a CEO, or even an entire company. But it does require identifying where you want to stake your claim as a thought leader, and then communicating that expertise.
What’s the difference between a subject matter expert and a thought leader?
Both have serious smarts. Yet it’s important to understand the difference between a subject matter expert (SME) and a thought leader. While SMEs are knowledgeable individuals sharing experiences and best practices, thought leaders aim to influence the broader market with their innovative ideas — transcending organizational boundaries.
Why is thought leadership important to your company?
Thought leadership is often viewed as a nice-to-have — a lofty goal with no real payoff. But investing in a strong thought leadership program and strategy not only elevates your brand and reputation, it can also fuel all kinds of new business opportunities.
Why do B2B marketers invest in thought leadership?
- Boost brand awareness (79%)
- Generate leads (76%)
- Establish credibility and trust (68%)
Source: MX
Content Marketing vs. Thought Leadership
Content marketing and thought leadership are two complementary yet distinct strategies that support sales and marketing programs in different ways.
Content marketing focuses on engaging audiences and attracting leads. It’s about delivering content that helps users solve problems and drive business outcomes. Thought leadership goes deeper. It’s out to inspire and shape industry trends. Thought leaders don’t just solve problems — they spark thought-provoking discussions and pave the way for bold new actions.
While these strategies aren’t the same, don’t think of it as a choice between content marketing and thought leadership. They’re both essential. By blending them, your company can create a powerful content engine that forges lasting connections with its audiences.
Thought leaders don’t just solve problems — they spark thought-provoking discussions and pave the way for bold new actions.
The Pillars of Thought Leadership
A truly effective thought leadership strategy influences and ignites action. And you can’t just excel in one area, such as content creation or brand visibility. You need to cultivate the characteristics of successful thought leader brands.
The MX Thought Leadership Index benchmarks thought leadership performance through five core pillars:
Authority
The credibility to inform and influence target audiences
Expertise and Foresight
The ownership of credible, specialized knowledge that allows the company to anticipate the audience’s future needs
Visibility
The ability to be seen clearly against the competitive landscape
Trust
The target audience’s confidence in the strength, validity and truth of a company’s thinking
Content Leadership
The ability to connect with the company’s audience through content, separating the brand from its competitors
Aligning your thought leadership strategy to these pillars will help your company grow trust, drive engagement and enhance brand credibility. Remember: It’s not just about what you know, but also how you share that knowledge.
Essential Characteristics of Thought Leadership Brands
For your thought leadership program to be effective, your brand must be authentic, be consistent and have a distinct viewpoint. Here are some questions to ask as you develop and refine your thought leadership strategy.
Do you offer fresh, innovative thinking that’s not afraid to buck conventional wisdom?
Thought leadership requires coming in with a bold, future-focused approach to topics or issues — looking at things from different angles and offering insights that challenge the status quo. That could mean putting a new spin on commonly held assumptions, exploring uncharted territory or presenting alternative solutions. In a digital landscape rife with generic and AI-generated content, it’s the content with a unique point of view that will set you apart.
76%
of B2B marketers rank having a distinct POV as one of the most important attributes of thought leadership.
Source: MX
Do you maintain a consistent thought leadership presence and message?
Your audience should know what to expect from you and when. A regular cadence of thought leadership content primes audiences to recognize and associate your brand with the specific thought leadership message or topic you want to reinforce.
9 in 10 decision-makers say they’re moderately or very likely to be more receptive to sales or marketing outreach from a company that consistently produces high-quality thought leadership.
Source: 2024 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, Edelman and LinkedIn
Does the brand come across as genuine and transparent in its communications?
Authenticity builds trust and fosters a stronger connection with your audience. It shows people they can rely on your brand to uphold its values and beliefs, which is critical to building — and sustaining — your thought leadership rep.
Organizations that produce thought leadership materials are perceived as more trustworthy and are rewarded with 164% more of overall spend.
Source: The ROI of Thought Leadership
Why Thought Leadership Matters
Establishing a company’s rep as a true thought leader requires a serious investment. But it can also be what sets your organization apart from the pack. Fail to establish your brand as a go-to authority, and you risk losing out to a competitor that will.
But it’s not just about gaining recognition. Thought leadership also drives business growth: 88% of CEOs say they’ve made a purchase decision in the last 90 days based on the thought leadership they consumed, according to research included in The ROI of Thought Leadership.
How Thought Leadership Can Transform Your Organization
Need more reasons to invest in developing a strong thought leadership strategy? Here are four ways thought leadership can transform your business today and in the future.
1. It establishes the credibility and authority of your brand.
There are many ways to build brand trust with content marketing. But thought leadership takes it to the next level by positioning your brand at the forefront of industry conversations and helping you build a reputation as an expert.
2. It drives business growth.
Thought leadership content attracts potential customers by putting their needs and interests first. Here’s the reality: Audiences are far more willing to fork over their contact information if they get valuable content out of the deal — making thought leadership content one of the most effective ways to turn interest into leads.
3. It increases brand visibility and reach.
Want more of the right buyers visiting your site? Well-crafted thought leadership content often earns shares and backlinks from both individuals and organizations, boosting your SEO strategy.
Think of it as a magnet: As your content gains traction and visibility, your website’s organic traffic will also improve — pulling in potential customers to your site. And with increased visibility comes greater influence within the industry, attracting new customers and expanding your brand’s impact.
4. It strengthens customer relationships.Providing fresh, relevant insights helps build lasting relationships with current customers as well as prospects: 96% of C-suite leaders say they consume thought leadership materials to help them make better business decisions, per The ROI of Thought Leadership. By regularly serving up super-smart thinking that helps customers succeed, a strong thought leadership content program boosts customer engagement and keeps them keeps them and invested in your brand. They also know that they can look to you for those insights over your competition.
Getting Started With Thought Leadership
Whether you’re a thought leadership newbie or an OG pioneer, the biggest mistake you can make is neglecting strategy. The most successful thought leadership content programs have a solid foundation, rooted in strategic insights and delivering against measurable business objectives. Industry trends, market shifts, and audience needs and behaviors should all inform your thought leadership content and the tactics you use.
In other words, before you ever think about creating content, make sure you have a bulletproof strategy.
A majority (58%) of B2B marketers rate their content strategy as merely “moderately effective.”
And nearly half of those say their strategy struggles because they lack clear goals.
Your Step-by-Step Guide to a Brilliant Thought Leadership Strategy
Need to create or refresh your company’s thought leadership strategy? Here’s how to get started.
1. Set clear objectives.
Clear, measurable objectives are the foundation of any successful thought leadership strategy. Without them, you can’t really gauge your progress — and, ultimately, your success.
- Define what success looks like for your brand. What are you out to achieve with your thought leadership initiatives? Greater brand awareness? A boost in customer loyalty? Are you looking to grow in a new market or become an employer of choice?
- Define how to measure success: Think about how you’ll benchmark your progress. Will you track engagement rates, website traffic, bounce rates? One option is to use the SMART criteria, setting goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. This will provide some basic direction. But tools designed specifically to measure thought leadership, like the Thought Leadership Index, will be the best indicator of your performance — especially if you want to benchmark it over time.
2. Target the right audience.
Creating relevant thought leadership content is impossible without understanding your target. So think about who you’re talking to — or want to reach. It’s not just about casting a wide net. It’s about knowing exactly who you want to engage with and taking an audience-first approach. Some tips to get you started:
- Narrow your target: Who do you want to engage? Industry experts, potential clients or maybe even your own employees? Now refine that even more: Think about specific job titles, geographic regions or company types. The more precise you can be with who you’re talking to, the better you’ll be able to speak their language.Need more info? Try conducting surveys to help you gather insights directly from target audiences
- Create personas: Your personas are detailed profiles of your audiences, chockablock with the info you need to reach them. What are their job roles? What are they striving for? What kinds of information are they seeking, and why? What keeps them up at night? The more you know, the better you can customize your thought leadership materials.
Learn how to create buyer personas
- Consider how to tailor your message: Use those audience insights to plan your communications strategy in a way that strikes a chord and inspires audiences to act. Content will need to hit the tone audiences are looking for and be available in formats they prefer. Are they a podcast person or strictly social? Or maybe they’re looking for a deep-dive white paper. Show that you understand their world: New thought leadership content must speak directly to their needs and interests.
3. Stay on trend.
Sometimes you have to follow before you can lead. As a thought leader brand, one way to stay ahead of the curve is to track trends in your industry, in content marketing and even in thought leadership itself. This helps keep your content timely and fresh, which leads to a more sustainable thought leadership strategy. It may also spark new ideas or highlight tactics that you hadn’t thought of before.
Here are some ways to hone your trendspotting skills:
- Follow other thought leaders in your niche or specialty area. Track what topics they’re discussing — and how they’re presenting their ideas. The result? You get inspo for new content and maybe even uncover collab opportunities.
- Follow industry news and reports. Soak it all in — subscribe to newsletters, download the latest white papers and attend industry events.
- Seek out data-driven insights. Use digital tools to identify emerging topics your audience cares about — and see what’s on the downswing. SEO tools can also provide insight into search trends, such as your audience’s FAQs and the most searched-for keywords.
- Mix and mingle with industry professionals. Networking provides firsthand insights and opens up opportunities for partnerships. Attend conferences, join online communities and spend some quality time on LinkedIn.
- Be a (social) follower. Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Reddit are great places to engage in conversations around industry topics. Follow social thought leaders and relevant discussions to learn from others.
- Keep an eye on your competitors. See what new thought leadership content rivals are producing, where they’re sharing it and how it’s performing (or not performing). This can reveal gaps in the market you can fill with your own unique perspective.
4. Pick your niche.
Think about your brand’s strengths, expertise and what else sets you apart from others in your industry. What unique perspective or new insights can you offer? Once you’ve identified your very own thought leadership niche, you can begin to tailor content and conversations around it to establish your brand as a go-to resource for that topic.
How do you know when a niche is right?
- You’re already an expert. Choose an area where your company possesses deep knowledge and can provide valuable new insights. This will lay the foundation for a strong thought leadership strategy and ensure you have agency to speak out and lead the conversation.
- There’s white space. Dive into the competitive landscape to identify gaps where your company can offer unique value. Maybe no one is talking about a topic or issue from the perspective you want to share. Or perhaps there’s already a lot of existing content on the topic, but it feels generic. Understanding the market discourse ensures your thought leadership content is relevant and needed — and that you’re sharing a unique point of view.
- It aligns with your brand values. If your thought leadership niche doesn’t fit with your brand reputation, values, mission and strategy, you’re likely going to struggle to maintain authenticity. Make sure your niche reflects the core beliefs and principles of your company — and how you do business.
- You have unique thought leadership insights to share. Your thinking should set you apart from others in your field. Can you offer new perspectives? Are you viewed as a strong brand that’s really challenging the status quo to spur discussions and drive change?
Time for a content audit?
Many companies already have a stash of existing content to support their thought leadership efforts. Case in point: Your company recently conducted a study that could provide fresh, unique insights. Consider other options, too. Do you have customer stories and case studies to support your point of view? It’s okay if you don’t. You can always create new content as part of your thought leadership planning process. Here’s where a content audit can come in handy to help uncover existing content to refresh or reformat as part of your updated thought leadership strategy. The idea is to build a strong foundation of original, well-researched content for your audience’s thought leadership content journey.
5. Find your SMEs.
Recruiting internal subject matter experts to join your cause is one of the most effective ways to produce high-quality thought leadership content marketing. They’re the ones with a deep understanding of your thought leadership niche, and can be a powerful secret weapon in giving credibility to your content.
Here’s how to build your network of SMEs:
- Audit internal expertise. Look within to find colleagues with not just deep knowledge, but their own POV. Once you’ve identified them, collaborate to plan and develop new thought leadership content.
- Empower and train. Provide your experts with the guidance they need to share their insights effectively. This might include writing support, media training or public speaking coaching. If they’ll be developing content, refresh SMEs on your company’s brand guidelines. And share other strategic deliverables, such as your thought leadership strategy and content calendar.
- Make it simple. Find efficient ways to help your SMEs distill their expert knowledge, such as conducting Q&As or hosting roundtable discussions. By making it easy for your SMEs to contribute, you’re ensuring both the accuracy and relevance of your content — and earning their buy-in for thought leadership. That’s especially important when strapped marketers are looking for help in supporting the company’s thought leadership program. Our own research reveals that insufficient bandwidth is the top obstacle to creating thought leadership, cited by 80% of B2B marketers.
- Promote their expertise. Use a mix of marketing channels to showcase your SMEs’ smarts and position them as industry leaders. You might invite them to contribute articles, enlist them to speak at industry events or share content on social media. Remember: Any thought leadership content produced by your internal experts should align with your thought leadership strategy, particularly your brand’s POV.
How to Find Your B2B Thought Leaders
6. Build out a content plan.
Sit down with your SMEs to brainstorm thought leadership content ideas that align with your niche and resonate with your target audience — building the foundation of your thought leadership campaign. This could include timely industry news updates, expert insights from data or research, or thought-provoking commentary on industry trends.
- Create a content calendar. Once you have a list of potential topics, organize them into a thought leadership content calendar or incorporate them into an existing one. Work with your team to create a production schedule and ensure a consistent flow of thought leadership pieces.
- Go omnichannel. Thought leadership isn’t all white papers. Consider which types of content will be most effective for conveying each topic or insight. For example, a data-driven study may be better suited for an infographic or report, while a personal anecdote or trend commentary may work well as a blog post or video.
- Assign responsibilities. Determine who will be responsible for creating each piece of content, as well as any supporting materials, such as graphics, social media posts or email nurture campaigns.
- Set deadlines and review processes. Establish clear timelines for when each piece of thought leadership content should be completed and reviewed by the thought leadership powers that be.
42%
of B2B marketers say generative AI improves content optimization.
Source: B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025, Content Marketing Institute
How To Create Influential Thought Leadership Content
Content is the backbone of your thought leadership strategy — and the cornerstone of effective thought leadership marketing. It’s what will attract, engage and retain your audience. And done right, it should be something they look forward to and find genuinely useful.
7 in 10 decision-makers say they’re very likely to think more positively about organizations that consistently produce high-quality thought leadership.
Source: 2024 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, Edelman and LinkedIn
6 Tips for Creating Thought Leadership Content Marketing That Users Actually Value
1. Focus on quality: Don’t just churn out content. Invest time in well-researched, well-written and visually appealing pieces that your audience will appreciate. Focus on producing high-quality thought leadership instead a high volume of it. Prioritize depth, insight and value in every thought leadership piece you create.
48% of B2B decision-makers say the overall quality of thought leadership they read is good.
Only 15% rate the quality as very good or excellent.
Source: 2024 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, Edelman and LinkedIn
2. Be relevant — and stay current. Remember what we said about keeping your finger on the pulse of industry trends? Now make sure your content reflects that. This is how you solidify your position as a go-to resource: Craft thought leadership content that’s not just informative but also speaks to the most pressing issues of the times.
3. Provide solutions: If you really want to be seen as a thought leader, it’s going to take more than issuing lofty ideas from on high or rehashing the same old glib observations. Give your audience practical, actionable insights they can use right away — even if it’s just pushing them to think about a new idea or look at your industry differently. Your thought leadership content should also provide clear steps your audience can take to apply your insights and improve their own strategies and operations.
75%
of B2B decision-makers and C-suite executives say a piece of thought leadership led them to research a product or service they weren’t considering before.
Source: 2024 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, Edelman and LinkedIn
4. Use a mix of formats: Articles, videos, podcasts, reports, infographics and webinars — use them all. Trying out different formats in your thought leadership content keeps things fresh and engaging, while also increasing your reach. For instance, research reports may provide in-depth analysis, while short videos can offer quick-hitting insights and visual takeaways for audiences. Oh, and don’t neglect the digital experience — it can make or break how audiences view your brand.
5. Tap your inner journalist: Your content isn’t just being compared to what’s produced by your industry peers. It’s going up against top-tier media heavyweights — think The New York Times, Fast Company, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal. So you better be sure your content is good. How? Interview reliable sources, do your research and write in a professional-but-not-boring style. Then make sure you fact-check it all.
6. Consider diversity and inclusion: Effective thought leadership content reflects and speaks to a range of voices and perspectives — and is accessible to a diverse audience. Drawing from a range of contributors, using inclusive language and addressing topics that matter to underrepresented groups can help ensure a variety of audiences connect with your content. It can also demonstrate your brand’s commitment to social responsibility and a forward-thinking mindset.
Types of Thought Leadership Content
The content world is your oyster. So don’t get caught up in the cliché that you need a bunch of super-formal white papers to be seen as a thought leader. Here are some formats you should consider incorporating in your thought leadership strategy to showcase your brand’s expertise and keep audiences hooked.
Long-form articles: Dive deep into industry hot topics and trends with your unique insights.
- The big benefit: Attract a loyal audience with valuable, informative pieces.
- Pro tip: It’s all about consistency. So be prepared to regularly publish articles that offer detailed answers to your audience’s burning questions.
Magazines: Offer a curated, visually driven platform for exploring industry topics and showcasing thought leadership on a regular cadence.
- The big benefit: There’s nothing else like magazine to transform long-form storytelling into a tactile, immersive experience. You can combine feature articles, Q&As and quick hits in one polished piece that stands out from the digital deluge.
- Pro tip: Atomize the hell out of all the content that fills those magazine pages.
Videos: Share expertise and ideas through engaging visual stories.
- The big benefit: Videos make it easy for audiences to connect with ideas quickly and on a personal level.
- Pro tip: Use short-form video formats to drive awareness and tease topics you want audiences to engage with further. But don’t skimp on longer videos or buy into the myth about fading attention spans among young people: More than half of Gen Zers report watching videos of 90 seconds or more on social, per an Emarketer survey.
Webinars: Shine a spotlight on your SMEs — and let them engage with your audience in real time.
- The big benefit: Increase visibility to a broader audience and deliver immediate value to participants.
- Pro tip: Always leave time for a Q&A to boost credibility and helpfulness, following webinar best practices.
White papers: Provide a deep exploration of complex topics through in-depth reporting and analysis with a focus on solutions.
- Key benefit: White papers have earned their rep as the go-to method for building brand authority on a core topic by showcasing proprietary insights.
- Pro tip: Not every white paper has to be written with an ultra-serious, academic tone and voice. This format can be flexible, so follow your own brand voice. And don’t be afraid to dial up the visual interest.
Research reports: Analyze trends and provide insights based on your expert analysis of data.
- The big benefit: Research reports help position your brand and its SMEs as reliable, knowledgeable and data-driven.
- Pro tip: Like white papers, research reports work well as gated content to capture leads. But you should tease out snippets of that content gold via social and email to boost downloads.
Case studies: Demonstrate how your solutions work in the real world.
- The big benefit: Case studies help build trust through rock-solid examples of success and help secure buy-in for your brand’s thought leadership perspectives.
- Pro tip: Play up measurable results so potential clients can readily see the payoff. Your sales team will thank you.
Infographics: Simplify complex concepts with scannable, snackable visual data.
- The big benefit: Infographics are highly shareable and quick to convey key points that support thought leadership POVs.
- Pro tip: Use eye-catching design and minimal text for maximum impact — but also make sure the data tells a compelling story.
E-books: Explore your topic of choice through a more immersive, narrative-driven experience.
- The big benefit: Credible, memorable, tactile — they provide a deeper and more visual exploration of your thought leadership story.
- Pro tip: Strategic use of text CTAs or QR codes can drive readers to product pages, additional articles and the like.
Podcasts: Share audio content featuring industry trends, expert interviews and valuable insights to forge authentic customer connections.
- The big benefit: It’s perfect for your audience to consume on the go, allowing them to engage with your content almost anywhere and anytime.
- Pro tip: Repurpose podcast content into articles or social snippets to maximize reach.
Resource Guide: How Brands Use Podcasts to Forge Authentic Customer Connections
The Recipe for B2B Thought Leadership
Creating B2B thought leadership content can help you establish credibility, build trust and position your brand as an industry expert. But with so much content out there already, how do you make yours stand out?
Focus on data-driven insights. B2B audiences rely on facts. Incorporate original research and statistics to back up your claims.
Action plan: Go beyond the numbers. Identify and feature credible sources who can speak to the data — adding context and strengthening your thought leadership position.
Solve real business problems. Take on the issues that are keeping your customers up at night. And don’t just focus on theory. Develop B2B thought leadership content that offers practical solutions.
Action plan: Load your content calendar with pieces that address your customer’s top pain points and provide actionable takeaways.
Go deep. Detailed case studies and white papers resonate with B2B audiences. Combine rigorous research with real-world examples to make abstract concepts tangible.
Action plan: Thought leadership isn’t just a platform to promote your ideas or products. To make your case, show the transformation in all its glory and highlight measurable outcomes. For white papers, focus on providing in-depth analysis, industry trends and actionable insights that decision-makers can apply.
Don’t be boring. We need to do a little myth busting here: B2B thought leadership doesn’t have to be a snoozefest to be meaningful. Inject some personality into your content to keep readers engaged and interested — and don’t be afraid to stir the pot. You want your audience to feel like they’re having an unexpectedly fascinating conversation at a dinner party, not stuck in a lecture.
Action plan: Use a conversational tone, tell stories and anecdotes, and amp up the visuals to break up longer text. Yes, thought leadership content should be informative. But don’t forget: People are more likely to remember and share content that’s interesting and, dare we say, entertaining.
Tailoring Thought Leadership Content for Your Industry
Thought leadership isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy. Your brand excels by addressing the specific challenges and opportunities of your industry and your customers. Whether you’re an established B2B company, a startup or an association, your content has to resonate with your audience to be effective. Here’s a sector-by-sector breakdown of factors to consider:
Manufacturing
In manufacturing, thought leadership content marketing that highlights innovation and industry trends can boost your brand’s authority — and change some outdated perceptions of the industry along the way.
Put the spotlight on:
Innovation and Technology
Whether it’s smart factories or the industrial metaverse, forward-looking manufacturers are leading the conversation on advancements like automation, the Internet of Things and AI. But the most effective thought leadership content showcases the ROI — how all that bleeding-edge tech actually boosts efficiency, productivity and safety in manufacturing.
Case Studies
This is where you move beyond theory to show action. Share real-world examples of how your products or services solved specific customer challenges. Or if you’re focused on recruiting talent, spotlight workforce development programs or company benefits that position you as an employer of choice.
Industry Trends and Forecasts
Offer new insights on timely issues, such as supply chain optimization, tariffs and sustainability practices, to help your audience stay up to speed on what’s happening in the industry.
Information Technology (IT)
The IT sector evolves at warp speed — and producing thought leadership content that highlights cutting-edge technologies and solutions positions you as a first-mover.
Put the spotlight on:
Digital Transformation
Explore digital transformation journeys, weighing in on different approaches to make the most of game-changers like cloud computing, AI and big data.
Technical White Papers
Publish in-depth white papers that offer technical depth. But it can’t be all geeking out — you also need to highlight practical insights for decision-makers.
Cybersecurity
Illuminate best practices and solutions for tackling emerging cybersecurity threats. Not only is it a critical concern for IT professionals, but a thought leader with a strong POV will find an audience primed to spend: Over three-quarters (77%) of organizations expect their cyber budget to increase in 2025, per PwC.
Financial Services
Trust is everything in finserv. Industry thought leaders build that trust by serving up analytical insights, audience-first storytelling and regulatory expertise.
Put the spotlight on:
Data-Driven Outlooks
Bring in the SMEs. Show off your expertise with data-driven market forecasts and strategies, offering valuable analysis that can help guide your customer’s decision-making process.
Case Studies
Go deep, with rich examples of your company in action — whether it’s guiding a customer through a liquidity crisis or helping them capitalize on an expansion opportunity.
Regulatory Updates
Keep your audience ahead of the curve with timely updates on regulatory changes. Help them not only stay compliant but also gain a competitive advantage by unpacking the implications and offering strategic guidance on how to make the most of marketplace shifts.
Healthcare
Healthcare leaders face a complex landscape, often with dueling priorities: improving patient outcomes, controlling costs and navigating regulatory challenges. An effective thought leadership strategy keeps your brand at the forefront of industry innovation, guiding others through the complex healthcare landscape.
Put the spotlight on:
Patient Care and Experience
Keep your finger on the pulse of the patient experience by discussing best practices for improving care, such as telehealth and patient-centered care models.
Policy and Regulatory Updates
Serve as a trusted source of knowledge for healthcare policy updates and regulatory changes, keeping providers and patients informed.
Medical Research and Innovations
Explore emerging medical research, technology and innovations — positioning your brand as a leading voice in healthcare advancements.
Associations
Associations have an established rep as thought leaders. They’ve long seen the value of content marketing to help members excel and forge a community around shared goals and ideas. These days, the big challenge for many is not just building a clear and sustainable value prop for members, but adopting a truly digital mindset that takes them beyond the in-person events and print magazines where they’ve thrived.
Put the spotlight on:
Advocacy
Champion policies and innovative programs in your specialty or industry, strengthening the collective voice of the association.
Best Practices
Offer guidelines, standards and proprietary research to help members get ahead. That content can then be curated across your ecosystem, with core messaging embedded into everything from podcasts to social posts.
Member Success Stories
Showcase how association members have used your thought leadership resources and knowledge to succeed, inspiring others through storytelling.
How Storytelling Elevates Thought Leadership
Storytelling often gets a bad rap as a fanciful, woo-woo way to liven up your thought leadership content. But done right, it helps transform dry insights into compelling — and unforgettable — narratives. In the realm of thought leadership, storytelling bridges the gap between knowledge and impact. Let’s break down how to use it effectively.
Why Storytelling Works for Thought Leaders
At the core of thought leadership is expertise. But all that brilliant thinking isn’t enough. Storytelling helps deliver a more immersive experience by weaving facts, insights and data into a narrative that pulls people in and encourages deeper engagement.
Facts alone may inform, but stories foster emotional investment. A well-told story can ignite curiosity, empathy or inspiration — emotions that encourage your audience to not only listen but also act. When you humanize your content, you make it easier for your audience to see themselves in your thought leadership narrative.
3 Ways to Incorporate Storytelling Into Your Thought Leadership Content
How can brands turn content ideas into narratives that truly resonate with their audiences? Start by tapping these storytelling best practices as you build out your thought leadership content strategy and tactics.
1. Add the human touch. Trying to speak to everyone often means connecting with no one. The lesson? Tailor your content to speak directly to different segments, whether they’re industry experts, executives or individual customers. You need to address their specific challenges and goals — and do it in a way that feels personal.
This is more about the hero’s journey than a hardcore pitch, so lean into the color and detail. Tell the tale — and don’t leave out any of the drama or emotion. Whether it’s curiosity, joy, empathy or even frustration, emotional triggers push your audience to engage with your content. Crafting stories around these triggers can make your thought leadership stand out in a sea of dry, fact-heavy content — and be a powerful complement to your more data-driven pieces.
2. Break it down. Thought leadership frequently tackles complex, abstract topics. Storytelling can help break down even the most labyrinthine thinking into relatable, digestible steps or themes for audiences. Illustrate your points in vivid detail with real-world examples and case studies. And don’t skimp on the visuals, either. This is the time to lean into photography, charts, diagrams and infographics. That kind of visual support makes your content more engaging while helping to solidify understanding.
Playing… Everywhere
Plot twist: To get the most out of your storytelling efforts, share content across platforms. Social media, video and podcasts are ideal for reaching diverse audiences with dynamic storytelling. Video thought leadership content, for example, allows you to tell stories in a shareable, visual way.
16 stats that prove the value of video
3. Get social. Thought leadership on social isn’t an oxymoron. You just can’t be afraid to break some rules — like the one that says everything has to be short and sweet. By using narrative-style posts, you can give audiences helpful, insightful content, while also hacking your way around algorithms aimed at keeping users on platform. Highly visual formats like LinkedIn carousels, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels also help stop the scroll and generate engagement with your thought leadership content.
If you’re a B2B brand, using social storytelling to share thought leadership is a great way to stand out on LinkedIn — which also happens to be one of the most popular places for B2B audiences to hang out.
Download our Quick-Hit Guide to Social Storytelling.
But Wait! How Does the Story End?
The best stories don’t just inform — they motivate. So aim to inspire action, not just reflection. Whether you’re calling on your audience to think differently, adopt a new strategy or take meaningful action, storytelling should get them to actually do something. By linking your story to an actionable takeaway, you transform your thought leadership into a driver for change.
Visual Storytelling: Designing Powerful Thought Leadership Content
Words are no doubt important to thought leaders. But adding visual elements like infographics, photos and designed pullquotes to your storytelling can really elevate your thought leadership content. Not only do stellar visuals enhance the look of your piece, they’re like content catnip for more visual learners.
Here are some suggestions for leveling up the design of your thought leadership content.
Marry messaging with design. Infographics, video and other visually driven content can make complex information easier to understand and more engaging.
- Use charts and graphs to highlight key stats, letting users quickly absorb information.
- Create a strong visual identity for the most important thought leadership takeaways.
- Plan for atomization: As you build out longer thought leadership pieces, think about how you can pull out key stats and takeaways for social posts, email newsletters, video shorts and presentations.
Keep UX top of mind. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and optimized for mobile. A well-thought-out plan for UX and UI keeps visitors engaged and encourages deeper exploration of your content.
- Make navigation intuitive, using clear menus and easy-to-find links.
- Only gate your most valuable thought leadership content: Make it easy for audiences to engage with the rest.
- Prioritize mobile optimization, ensuring all content — thought leadership included — adjusts seamlessly to fit smaller screens.
- Regularly test site speed and resolve any issues that could slow download times. Take it for a test drive: Your homepage should load in 1-2 seconds on both mobile and desktop to prevent visitors from bouncing.
Stay on brand. Maintaining a cohesive brand identity across platforms ensures audiences associate your brand with the topics it covers. Your thought leadership should be no exception. Use a unified voice and consistent visuals to strengthen brand recognition.
- Use a branded color palette, fonts and logos across assets to maintain visual consistency.
- To make sure your brand identity is carried across all thought leadership content, don’t just document guidelines — socialize them, too.
Thought Leadership Storytelling in Action
The Mission
Solidify the Project Management Institute (PMI) as the leading authority on project success.
The Strategy
Use an omnichannel thought leadership content marketing program to attract, educate and empower the project management community.
Highlights of the award-winning program include:
Special reports: Project management is evolving constantly, and PMI takes on trending topics with real-world reporting and research.
Podcast: The biweekly Projectified® podcast features forward-looking discussions with voices from the community weighing in on everything from leadership to space exploration projects.
Social storytelling: This stop-the-scroll strategy added depth and actionable takeaways to PMI’s social feed — keeping fickle social users engaged.
Most Influential Projects and Future 50 campaigns: Project professionals are doing amazing things around the world. This is where PMI shares their stories.
The Impact:
18x global membership growth over the past two decades
2.2 million podcast downloads and listeners in 160 countries
2 million+ LinkedIn followers
Media Engagements
Forging strategic partnerships with the media outlets that speak to your audience will let you enhance your public relations efforts and expand your thought leadership reach.
- Find your new BFF: Connect with journalists who work in media related to your industry or topic, and hit them up regularly with access to your smartest SMEs.
- Pitch expert stories: Craft newsworthy, tailored pitches for each outlet. Op-eds, guest columns, Q&As and interview-style features can all build cred for your SMEs.
- Stay authentic: Be transparent and genuine to build trust with the media and your audience. Focus content on solving problems — not making product pitches and selling services.
- Be relevant: Take on timely topics to capture attention without resorting to click bait.
Social Media
It can be tough to compete with all those killer memes and cat videos. We get it. But a strong social game is a powerful weapon in your thought leadership arsenal. And you don’t have to dumb things down — this is a prime venue for serving up valuable insights and influencing conversations. Here’s how to snag some attention and engagement:
- Post consistently: Make thought leadership a fixture of your social content calendar — it’s a sure-fire way to keep your insights top of mind.
- Listen to your followers: Foster conversation by responding to your community — and giving them opportunities to weigh in on topics. Think polls, quizzes and questions.
- Stay current with trends and updates: Social platforms are fickle beasts with a habit of constantly evolving. So stay informed and be ready to adapt. Educate your team on the latest tools and formats for boosting engagement.
- Think visually: Mixing it up with social content formats can turn ho-hum text into scroll-stopping posts. Try:
- Carousels: Break down complex ideas into swipeable slideshows.
- Video shorts: Use quick-hit videos to share insights or trends in an easily digestible way.
- Designed stats and pullquotes: Pull out buzz-worthy quotes and data from longer content and share them with branded visuals.
- Infographics: Reimagine data points as visually engaging stories.
Pro tip: Consider creating a LinkedIn newsletter.
Looking for another way to share your thought leadership content? Create a LinkedIn newsletter that sends articles, videos, white paper snippets and more straight to your audience’s inbox. Audiences don’t have to be your followers to opt in, but they’ll automatically start following your LinkedIn company page once they do.
Speaking Engagements
Snagging speaking opportunities for your SMEs helps boost your thought leadership credibility — putting your brand front and center with audiences primed to learn from you.
- Pursue opportunities: Raise your hand — and those of your SMEs — to speak at conferences, webinars, industry events and trade shows to showcase your ideas and expertise.
- Partner up: Reach out to other experts in your field and propose joint speaking engagements to enhance authority on your target topics.
- Be provocative: Make presentations engaging, clear and content-rich — and don’t bury your POV. The most engaging speakers tend to focus on new, thought-provoking ideas — and don’t worry about ruffling feathers.
- Network and collaborate: Make yourself available for questions and networking after your presentation. Then follow up: Connect with attendees on social media and continue the conversation after the event.
Content Hub
What’s a content hub, you ask? And how is it different from a blog or a resource center? This is largely a case of “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” We see it as a one-stop shop for all your thought leadership content — one that’s built for browsing. (It’s not organized by publication date, for example.) The idea is to reduce bounce rates and increase time spent on your site, both positive signals for audience engagement.
What does it take to create a killer content hub?
Mix content formats: Content hubs are designed to accommodate a mélange of content types to suit different preferences — and different users. That means brands can showcase a range of formats, visuals and CTAs on topics to solidify their thought leadership cred.
Prioritize SEO: One of the many benefits of content hubs is how they improve search visibility on and off your site. A well-organized hub uses internal linking, keyword targeting and great UX to strengthen your site structure, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index your thought leadership.
Make it personal: Beyond user-driven filtering, marketing automation tools can take your hub’s personalization to the next level. By tracking user behavior and engagement, you can automatically serve up dynamic thought leadership content tailored to each visitor’s journey — from personalized CTAs to recommendations that align precisely with their interests.
Encourage subscribers: Want to keep people coming back to your content hub? Make it easy for them to opt in to receive your latest thought leadership content with a weekly or monthly email newsletter.
Content Atomization
Repurpose, reimagine and reformat. That’s how you truly maximize the value of your thought leadership content. For example: That special report your research team came up with is full of infographics fodder. Your webinar can be developed into a white paper — which can become a series of blog articles, which can be turned into social storytelling posts. You get the idea.
Atomization is about doing more with the content you’ve created. It’s efficient, supports distribution and keeps your message consistent — all of which translates into greater ROI from your thought leadership content marketing program. Here are some suggestions on how to turn that vision into reality.
Encourage deeper exploration: Use bite-sized content to drive traffic back to the original content asset, like a CTA that guides users to the source material for more context. Sounds simple, but, hey, it works. Just think how many times you’ve been sucked in by a teaser and something like: “Want more? Read the full report here.”
Tailor your approach: Carefully curate your insights to suit each vehicle. Different channels also come with their own requirements (such as character limits) and user expectations, so be ready to adjust.
Keep messages consistent: As you slice and dice all that content into smaller, shareable pieces, make sure your core messages and branding stay cohesive across different channels and formats.
Thought Leadership Fails: 6 Common Content Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
1. Indulging in Overpromotion
Your thought leadership should prioritize valuable insights over promotional messaging. This is about building trust and authority, establishing you as a credible thought leader.
Red Flag: A brand uses every blog post and white paper to push its products, constantly including CTAs like “Buy Now” or “Request a Demo” without offering real value. This turns the content into a sales pitch rather than a source of trusted information
2. Ignoring Audience Needs
Thought leaders can’t dictate from on high. You need to understand and address the concerns of your audience. Build in feedback loops to uncover whether users find the content relevant and helpful. If they don’t, it’s time to refine your thought leadership content strategy.
Red Flag: A B2B startup publishes a series of articles without understanding its audience’s challenges — offering insights disconnected from the real-world difficulties its customers face. The result? Prospects disengage and turn to sources that offer more relevant content.
3. Posting Erratically
Consistency counts. To keep your thought leadership program top-of-mind with your audience, use your content calendar to plot out a regular cadence of activity — and stick to it. If you struggle to keep up with the content volume, scale back. Publishing less often still keeps you in the conversation — and that’s way better than just disappearing.
Red Flag: A SaaS company posts a super-engaging white paper and then goes silent. Users see it as a one-off and lose trust in the brand’s thought leadership position.
4. Failing to Differentiate Your Perspective
The downfall of many thought leader wannabes? Not establishing their own POV. Pushing boundaries and presenting novel ideas will set your thought leadership content apart from the competition — letting you take control of the narrative. And it keeps audiences coming back.
Red Flag: An association uses AI to spew out the same industry news and trends content that everyone else in their industry is discussing. Without offering fresh takes or innovative ideas, the AI-generated content quickly fades — adding little value.
5. Skimping on Omnichannel Distribution
It’s a simple fact: You’ll reach more people by putting out your thought leadership content across multiple platforms. A unified distribution strategy amplifies your message and builds your thought leadership brand with current audiences, plus pulls in new folks, too.
Red Flag: A B2B brand only publishes its thought leadership pieces on its blog, neglecting to promote the content on social media, through email newsletters or in industry publications. This obviously limits the content’s reach — and potential impact.
6. Measuring Inconsistently
Tracking key metrics such as engagement, traffic and conversions lets you measure the success of your thought leadership initiatives — and secure buy-in from the powers that be at your organization. For a more long-term view, regularly benchmark and optimize your strategy using a tool like the Thought Leadership Index.
Red Flag: A brand consistently publishes a range of thought leadership content types, but the marketing team only sporadically tracks audience engagement or content performance. They continue to devote time and resources producing ineffective thought leadership — not fully understanding what’s working, what’s not working and why.
Measuring Performance of Thought Leadership Programs
Without metrics, it’s impossible to gauge the effectiveness of your thought leadership strategies. But many brands don’t know where to start: Nearly 20% of B2B decision-makers and executives say they don’t have a process to measure thought leadership, according to Edelman and LinkedIn.
Only through consistently tracking metrics can brands:
- Validate ROI: Confirming the effectiveness of your thought leadership content and marketing investments
- Identify areas for improvement: Pinpointing where you can enhance your strategy to better connect with your audience and outpace competitors
- Track competitive standing: Seeing how your brand’s thought leadership efforts perform against others in your industry or topic area
A tool like the Thought Leadership Index can help brands benchmark their efforts and answer critical questions like:
- Are our audiences confident in the credibility of our insights?
- How do we stack up against the competition?
- Are we moving the needle in terms of influence and engagement?
What’s Next? Optimize
To create sustainable thought leadership strategies, brands have to be agile. That means adapting to industry changes and audience feedback. Even if your thought leadership initiatives are resonating today, the only way to maintain that relevance and authority is by consistently examining and reimagining.
Pro tip: Hit refresh.
One way to optimize your thought leadership content engine? As you create new pieces, update older stuff in tandem. Refreshing past thought leadership content based on new trends and information keeps it relevant when the overarching ideas are still valid — and valuable.
Your Thought Leadership Action Plan
Ready? Set. Go! Use this checklist to make sure you’re ready to stake your claim as a thought leader:
1. Identify and understand your audiences.
- Define your target audiences and have detailed personas at the ready.
- Adopt an audience-first mindset: Seed their challenges, pain points and interests into your thought leadership materials.
- Gather insights through surveys, research or social listening tools.
2. Define clear objectives.
- Set measurable goals for your thought leadership (for example, brand awareness, lead gen or industry recognition).
- Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and track metrics regularly.
3. Claim your turf.
- Identify areas where your brand holds deep expertise.
- Analyze competitors and find gaps where your perspective can stand out.
- Align your thought leadership niche with your brand’s core values.
4. Tap your SMEs.
- Secure leadership buy-in by demonstrating that thought leadership is a valuable use of SMEs’ time and effort.
- Conduct an audit to identify experts at your company.
- Empower SMEs with the tools and training they need to create content of the caliber you need to make a mark.
- Use their unique insights to refine your thought leadership strategy.
5. Create high-quality, valuable content.
- Think bespoke tailoring, not fast fashion: Focus on producing well-researched, relevant content.
- Diversify formats — with blog posts, videos, podcast episodes, white papers, webinars or infographics.
- Make sure each piece of content provides actionable takeaways for your audience.
6. Go omnichannel.
- Use media engagements, social media, email newsletters and your content hub to amplify reach and maximize the impact of your marketing efforts.
- Adapt content formats to suit different platforms and audience preferences.
- Engage your audiences through storytelling and interactive elements sprinkled across your entire thought leadership ecosystem.
7. Optimize and atomize.
- Repurpose larger content pieces into smaller formats to broaden your reach with minimal effort.
- Keep a consistent message, no matter the channel.
- Tailor content for each platform’s specific requirements: an SEO-friendly headline for your long-form article, thumb-stopping visuals for social media and short, power-packed snippets for email.
8. Measure performance regularly.
- Benchmark your efforts.
- Track key metrics (engagement, authority, audience growth) to assess progress.
- Regularly refresh content and other thought leadership plays to stay relevant and maintain credibility.
9. Stay current — and be ready to iterate.
- Keep up with industry trends, audience feedback and competitor strategies.
- Continuously optimize your thought leadership strategy based on performance.
- Don’t get too comfy: Stay flexible and adjust your strategy as market conditions evolve.
Resources
2024 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, Reaching Beyond the Ready: Thought Leadership’s Impact on Engaging Out-of-Market B2B Buyers, Edelman and LinkedIn, 2024
B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025, Content Marketing Institute, 2024
The ROI of Thought Leadership: Calculating the Value that Sets Organizations Apart, Cindy Anderson and Anthony Marshall, 2025
